THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

So tonight I attended the General Assembly in Johnson.  Also in attendance were our friends Harold Hewitt, David Berkus, Barbara Avery, and Jim Tranquada all there to present on this epic Master Plan.  David Berkus, Chairman or the Policy Oversight Committee on the Master Plan and of the Building and Grounds Committee, began the presentation.

 

Mr.Berkus broke it down into 4 coherent topics: the process, the content, Los Angeles Entitlement Process, and Questions and Answers. Mr.Berkus didn't dwell too much in the process of the master plan, he mostly credited Moule & Polyzoides, and stated that this was the time for all students to get informed (by going to www.oxy/x4404.xml) and to participate (http://blogs.oxy.edu) because the deadline when the board of Trustees will decide is December 5/6.   

The next  aspect Mr.Berkus covered was the Content of the Master Plan.  He stated the intent of the Master Plan was 5 fold: to restore/reuse buildings, to infill, become more pedestrian friendly, create a sustainable campus, and develop a working/friendly relationship with the neighborhood. 

In restoring/reusing buildings he stressed the importance of stewarding the Myron Hunt endowment for historic buildings, the necessity for Oxy in the short run to avoid being deemed a 'historic area' as that would prevent the removal of certain buildings, and the pressing need to remodel dysfunctional buildings first of all being Swan. 

His 2 cents on the infill and pedestrian friendly parts of the Master Plan were interesting because I heard many ideas that meant to me that they had put much thought and time into their decisions. Basically the premise of these ideas was to expand into underdeveloped areas in order to make the campus more accessible through walking while at the same time making the campus more friendly and social.  They discussed many hardscapes, namely parking lots, to be removed and in their place native plants, walkways, and basketball courts as some ideas. 

Related to this Mr.Berkus covered a Sustainable Campus, the 4th aspect of the Master Plan , which included the construction of buildings, energy emissions, better indoor environments, maintenance, and xeroscape landscaping.

Lastly Mr.Berkus said it was very important to build stronger ties to the neighborhood.  Through improved channels or communication, ex. Destrict 14 council office and neighborhood meetings, Oxy could work with the community so that both could benefit.  He gave examples of more college run businesses and with the help of more signs and willing people in the neighborhood a more accessible campus. (He described a situation where our neighbors would help parents coming to the campus with directions and signs on their lawns).

And finally, they discussed the process after the Master Plan was passed by the Board of Trustees.  This would be the Entitlement Application, which would have to be passed by the City of Los Angeles. This application is less specific, more oriented towards zoning regulations and city standards, and would require an environmental assessment, a legal review, public comments, and Board review.  The gave July 7 2006 as a hopeful date.

They mentioned nothing about LEED certification until a question was raised and in response they said they were close to meeting Silver Certification standards but sounded very pessimistic of actually getting the certification.

So if you have any questions I'll try to answer them, they went through the meeting pretty quick so I may have missed a couple of things but at the same time I feel as if I just typed a really long BLOG so hopefully it helped ya'll.      

Ian